Cardinals' Molina wins fourth straight Gold Glove

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina signs an autograph for Joplin High School baseball player Tyler Russell before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 18, 2011.

(UPI/Bill Greenblatt)

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina's 2011 season won't only end with a team-earned World Series win, but also a personal accomplishment. Molina has garnered his fourth Rawlings Gold Glove award.

Managers and coaches vote for the award each year to determine the player who demonstrated the best performance in each fielding position in both the National and American Leagues. According to the Cardinals' official website via MLB.com, fellow Cardinals "Kyle Lohse, Daniel Descalso and Matt Holliday were runners-up for Gold Gloves at pitcher, third base and left field, respectively."

According to the Cardinals' official website at MLB.com, here are some of Molina's supporting statistics:

He finished second among NL catchers in innings (1,150), sixth in assists (67), fourth in fielding percentage (.995) and fourth in percentage of runners caught stealing (29.2 percent).

Known for his extremely strong arm, Molina allowed the fewest stolen bases of any of the eight qualifying catchers in the NL (46). That, in fact, may be the strongest statement -- many opponents have simply stopped trying to run on him.

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The St. Louis Cardinals won a remarkable World Series they weren't even supposed to reach, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night with another key hit by hometown star David Freese and six gutty innings from Chris Carpenter. Freese was later named as the 2011 World Series Most Valuable Player.